Variety (Mar 1946)

8 VIOI ItEVIEWS WMlnesday, March 20, 1946 ^ The Kid From l|r«oklyn (Songs) (COLOR) BKO I'C'lcawi lit .Saimiol , ilrtlijiv} 11-. lu'mluv- tiiin. SUil-s l>!tniis' Kiiyt'; ti'Htur"s .VirKlirlti^ Jlayo, Vci'a-Klieii,, AVii.ller ,: AIh'I.: Kvp An<U'n, fitrtvo t'uolirinv, tt:titif'.'.i'. (-It^nct StniKloi'. Uii-«'i('iJ bj" Ni'iinrin '/,. .\l''l.ooil. MitpieA by Dun .rfaVtniiiii, Al.'lvl1li>:■Sl)uv''l- p«ll> from' .s(>r*'f^rutUiy by, itfTovfr ".1itn,*j.^.. i'rank Butli'i', Bii'liiii-ii I'Diiii.vl). bosoil on play ,bv T'SDii lloot, Uliit.v f.l'H'!;; .'anicra. »!i-ot,'»" Toiiunl; iHllior, : Biuiii'l JUm.tclU- ^laivi'PH. IWrhiii'iJ :I'oiirivd! musU'. „ .Sylvta Mni'-ihiK 'Ufimian, .lule >il5i.ii'-Simuny CnlHi. Tratit'ilhinvn.. N. v., Jliui'b lit. liunning linio, U4 MI>':S. liuVJeiKb suniViin... .....) Polly VrliiKle., Huslf Sll.ll(V<Hl,, ^.. Ann VVcMIey 4iabl>y Kl«»n.... ■. (ilHiVei' Si*ulc».. -. • Mm. K. Willi broil Di'.vioj im iir. Austin, i;,,,. . i.. . . ■.. • Jlh<iN)tfi"ni»bi:r , ,...>.... .i'i^ht Annoiint'ei;..... i .... Itudio Atviiounc'ei'..,;,...... Had to Ainiqui Kier. :... ..T>iinny K;IVC ..;Virginia. Mityo . .SVt'V(*" ■ CoiL'hraii . vv a ItcV -Vbcl . . JJ,«ii*'l. KtaikUn':' .. .'.i'".iy, fJai.iit^r , .Clai^n^'o- lyollr .. tur CiilU'i- r. .X'htii-lfis t'anc ..Tci'-onie (-invaii ... .Don .WilHOn. txnox iiii nuinK Sfatiwi K'V TUoniii.'.oii Ti.'ivnny Downs. Samiieil Goldwyia-Dajiny Kaye combino has outdone itself in ''The Kid from Broolclyn," toppIn*< the two highly succe.ss{ul previo.as efforts,'in almost every pliase o£ pri)dur1ioii. Based on the old. Hai-oldHoyd Starrer, "The Milky Way"' (oriijinally the late Hugh O'Connell's lejjit play). the film i.s aimed, straight at the bellylaughs and emerges as a lush mixture of comedy, music and gals, highlighted by; beautiful Technicolor and ultra-rich produption mountings. Loote'certain to bring in .ton grosses wherever played. Kaye. is spotted, in almost thrce- fourth.s of the picture's sequences; bujt' the audience will be clamoring for more at the final fadeout. Zany comic clicks with his unicnie , mug- ging, song stylizing and antics, but still packs in plenty of the wislful appeal. Kaye's double-tnlking song style is limiied to one number, ensil.v as good, as an.ything he's done. GonriiiH just, before the .sock climax, "Pavlova," written by Sylvia Fine andMax Liebman,. is a mirthful lauKh-getting takeoff oh raortei'ri ballet,: It's biie of his nitery era specialties. Kaye gets a chance to mouth some of the diffi-'. cult Ru<;sian names in his usual rapidlire pace, and > his s -.tire on Martha Graham and her "six crack- ers" should, .bfiiig' .'the house down. Number is set agaln.st a rich outdoors scene and winds up In a gag ilnish that's soeko. . , With a top cast and .screenplay ■ to work: with, director Norman Z. Mc- X^eod gets the mo.st out of each situa^ tion, Stoi'y . has Kaye as a: mild- niannered milkman who gets in- volved with a prizefight gang when he accidentally knocks out the eur:- rent middleweight champ. With the champ's publicity shot: to nieces, his manager decides to: capitalize on the situation by building Kaye into a contender and then cleaning up on the title bout. Series of setup fights gives Kaye the idea he's a real killer and. through the stupidity of Lionel Stander, the champ's handler, he wins the title, Virginia Mayo- and: a partnership in the dairy business. Kaye's supporting cast does uni- formly fine .work; keeping' their sights trained ..on the . comedy throughout. Miss Mayo, as the love interest, servos as a beautilul foil tor Kaye's madcap antics and sings two ballads in acc(!ptable fashion. Vera- EUen gets in ably on the comedy and does some spectacular terpsichore in two equally spectacular "production numbers. Walter Abel, as" the har- assed fight manager, turns in, one of his best comedy shots and Stander is equally outstandish as the tough, but stupid handler. - Eve Arden, Steve Cochran, Fay Bainter and- Clarence Kolb all add to the fun. Musical numbers; highlights oi the picture, are interspersed unobjeclion- Bbly into the script. Two .songs are almost certain to join the hit pavadc and the others should be. close runners-up. Tops are "You're the Cause of It All." one o£ Miss Mayo's ballads, :and "Hey. What's YoUr Name?",, novelty number that serves as the background for one of Vera- Ellcn's dance sequences. "The Sun- flower Song," a gag number done by the beautiful Goldwyn girls, is also topSi'. Film's acecgsovies arc all in con- formity with the richness evidenced throughout. Gals wear gdwns.' that should ,panic the feniine.s and 'Gold- wyn'.s sets are .something to talk iibout. Gregg Toland get.s .'ome ex- tellcnt effects with his color camera sua. The l*<»slinau Always Riii)i<N T%vi«« Hollywood: March IS. W'tro I'clnnBc; lit ra-i-py VViWiiji :iin,(lii(-t'ion. Stiir.s r.ana. TuviHT and .l(>lin (latfliid; :i>a- turt'S C'li'il KcUiivva.l. Huiii,. <'nlnvn. T>on Aium; A'UilKi.v 'rodi'r, Alatr Itr'wI.'' Diri'i'-lfd hy "Cay (..'ai'iiclt, Mj.jTi iviilay hv ilurry.:uiis. Iiiit and N'ivolV 'Kllst'.i);' ii.'j.s('i| votr nnvi:'! ' by .lames .M, (•.':'.ln';., I'aniiM'fiv SUni'v Wa'-nov; •■ditor, (Jefu't;? Wliilf; y.;n-c. ({"ViVK" IVaiSn-' man. ■Ti'jf(,I:nKl3ou-n f .oh - AnKi-U.f^, ^March l.'l ,'<«. liunninR limp. 113 .MI.NN. JJn-ii miijlli/.-^i..,.....,.:...,:T;ana Turiiov I' ronR. f hiiinlH')'*. f... ......., . ..juiin (i.;i,rilf.ij ..Ntok ;sm,li.h,.;..'. ; .....,; ,<>i..|i iO'liaway J*MlnM^^KmtV:.•. . /i.i .;iluiiir. <<f,,^ , MiidKf! .irt)flan.d........■,;.;..... Aii.l'ri.y 'ijiifci' *.zm- l:,l;iin K.»:Miti..ly:.. ...,.. .....;, .,\i„„ Rf.cfl Blait . ,v,. .,.,;j(,ii(;,voi1i "Tiio Postwun Alv\!iiv.s , Rings wiee'.' ,is :,.a':, ctmtt'Oversial ■ pioftii-e The approach to lust and imirder i.-! as adult and matter-of-fact as, that used by James M; Cain in his book from which the film was adapted. The subject matter, the star values and release are a boxoffice combina- tion that as.surc sock returns, but pic seems almost certain to be marked with controver.sy over .such a frank display of adultery and the murder to which it leads. Production guidance by Carey Wilson is showmanly. It was box- office wisdom to cast Lana Turner as the .sexy, blonde ■ murdorcssi and John Garfield as the loot-loose vaga- bond whose lust: for the girl made him stop at nothing, Ench give to the assignments tile best of their talents. Development of the characters makes Tay Garnett's direction :.saom slowly paced during first part of the picture; but this establishment was necessary to give the speed and punch to the uncompromising evil that transpircsi As in Gain's book; there will be little audience. sympathy for the characters, although plotting: will arouse moments of pity for the little people too weak to fight. against passion and the evil circum tances it brings. The Harry Ru.skin-Nivcn Busch script is a rather faithful translation of Cain's story of a boy and girl who murder the f,'rrs I'us- band, live through terror and eventually make payanent ''or their crime. "The writing is torso and natural to the characters and events that transpire; Cecil Kellaway, the husband, is a bit flamboyant at tunes in interpret- ing the character. Hume Cronyn is particularly effective as the, attorney who defends the couple for nuirdcr. Leon Ames is splendid as the district attorney^ Audrey : Totter again demonstrates her ability to take a brief bit and make it somothing to remember. Alan Reed, the black- mailing detective, and others are equally good. ' Camera, background music and other behind-the-scenes credits are carefully calculated to fuithcr the somber mood and- the inevitable conclusion. Brag. The Bride Wore Boots Hollywood, March 15. paramount: iTlea.s(* ol! i^iefon i. .\IillPi-:iiro- duclioji, .t>tai:S, JlavUal'a Wtanwyc.k., Robf-rt. .(',u,i7iniings,. IXiina. .f>ybni ffTi.tu.rcsH I'jilrlc, Knowles, reg'^'y. W:iM)d, ',).toh>ei't lioni.-hUw. Willie. B^,^t. . nii-p't'ted by. Irv'inK t'itdiel. .Soi'oenpJa'y; .t>\vij^bt 'iNlifol)i'll Wiley,, fr<im story by Wiley and l>lay ,ijy Mtany Si'Kall; ' oanit^rji,. Stuart Tlioinpsoi].. (lurdon, .U'n- ninKs; editor, , Eilfiwgrtb , no^oFflaiui:. .sOore." l^'rrderii'lc : H6lla,nd*'r; ,: ,Trad>tiU,<tu-t,i ,ilolly- u-iR)tT, jlarcli 14, '40. 'Ktinriiiitf tiiiio. 8ffi' Sallv Warron ,.., .ff'fC Warri'n. ....., .., Mary LOu, aisd,Poril., .. r.iinoe dale.:.. ,.: ..y;...'.: Grnca .'Vpley.. . ...,. ..: ToU "^Tarren.. v.-,.;., Joe .................; .Carol Warrfn .folinny ^N'arrrn...... Jani't Doughton...... . :narl)ara; .Stanwyck .. .Uobt'1'1' Cinnlninj;a Diima: i.ynn. !...... I'H.tric R'nOwles , : . . tVKUy Wood. :...Udbprt BuiKdiloy ... ..,.. . Willie. Hcst , ,..Natalie Wooii. . .(.Ire^ory Mnriidfan ..,. -Mary Younj? '"Tlie Bride Wore: Boots" is never as funny as its makers intended. Miniature Reviews "The Kid from Brooklyn" (Color; Songs). < Goldwyn-HKO). Danny Kaye in a lush Sam Goldwyn musi- cal pomedy opus, for top grosses. ••The Fostman Alwayi BiiiKs Twice" (M-G). James M. Cain novel of lust and murder slated for plenty b.o. and talk. "The Bride Wore Boots" (Par). Fair comedy that will be helped along by cast name strength; "Gllda" (Songs) (Col). Rita Kiiy worth : pic will do biz in any- body's theatrCi "Johnny Come« Flyini: Home" (20th). Run-of-the-mill actioa Rim of ex-Army flyers setting up as civvy air freighters. "Symphonic D'Amonr" (Musi- cal) iFrench). Fcrnand Gravet in a stilted story; weak for U.S. "Gun Town" (U). Fair western. "Out of the Deiiths" .tCol). Routine war meller set in a sub- marine. "Dai-t Is the NIelit" (Artkinoj). Drama of war-torn Russia. Big for foreign-language and arty theatres. "Blonde Alibi" (U). Routine whodunit. '<Tbe Spider IVoman : Strikes Back" (U). Fair meller for • dualers. There's enough marquee weight to lure initial customers, but little else to keep them coming. -;It: has: pros- pects for only average business, and that due to strength of top cast names. The production dress is fancy enough and the players, capable, but film's attempts at broad - ,-comedy: aren't too succes.sful. It is ohly in the final 10 minutes or so when siory casts oft: all restraint and >»oes slap- .stick with a vengeance that comedy rates a genuinely hearty response. Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Cummings are seen as niarried couple with divided iivterests. Miss Stanwyck loves horses, in fact, oper- ates a breeding farm. Cummings is an author and hates horses. The wife hates : the stuffy Civil War rehcs wished off on her husband by ador- ing Confederate Dames societies. The Dwight Mitchell Wiley plot saunters through petty misunder- standings, divorce, etc., and: then brings the couple together again for the finale. It remains for the tin'- billed ^.equine .playing "Albert,:' a horse in love.\with Cummings, and a screwball steeplechase featuring Albert's antics as: he valiantly tries to keep Cummings astride long enough to win the cup, to give a 'Oudaw' Holds Up Boxdikes; 5-Year Pre-Opening Campap a Big Factor solid windup to the silly proceedings that went before, Irving Picliel's direction had the advantage of the top talents ol Miss Stanwyck, Cummings,. Diana Lynn and others in \\'hich to make., the fable a success, but it never qiifte comes off as anticipated. Star trio, which has Miss Lynn as a young southern vamp, make frantic efforts to p\it the material over, but often fail, Patric Knowles has a tlianklfs.s spot as near-rival for Mi.ss Stan- wyck's attention. Peggy Wood and the late Robert Benchloy team for more adult chuckles and W.illie Best is good as Cumming.s' handy-man. Natalie Wood and Gregory Muradian are seen a.s: the obnoxious otl'spring of the married couple. The Seton I. Miller firoduction supplied excellent technical backing, but should have exervi.sed stronger supei'vision on .story development, Stuart Thompson's lenshig, and other credits are expert. Brog. <;il«la (SOXO.S) , i''t,dlli<ll'Ha, 'vt.'leasVf '^of,. 'VlrK'ini:^ Va.li .l'(t|> lU'Oiinetivin, , .siava 1tii;ii.ilf,ii;>y<i)'l 1|: .fei.i.Mn'«';i tTlonn l''or.d;. *1cm>Vrk. Maor<^a.tiy.,; ..ri.s('i»li t'al- leifi;. 'iitt'ei'.tert by :i|.hUi:ic.s .:vi(lor. .Screeiir. Mhiy,': ,Mu>.iiin, I>arKoun(>t. . from: mory , I,ty v.. A.: :Mning(oivi: Ada'^ttitiun.'. Jii :.Ki.siii{;er; .songu,..' .MlatT KtvhmR' iiivtl- l^iirlii... Fi.sl.ier; t'liiAcr.t. . R^idulpU: . Mate;. ■. wlHoi*.."^-. <'U«li<JN. .Vclson; inii.Mli! diiTotom, Si. W. ."trilolt iiiia i\rurlin !<Ulle..>. At IC'.i>1i<f t'ity Alllslr IIllU. N".. Y.. ■ openinjr AfarC'h H,' '40. Kiiniiint; tiiiic, MO AIINS. ■ . .... lllla ITa.vivorth .. *:.-..-.t4ie«|i, i'^Ol'*J '; i.tjeo.ri^' Atiit^Vttiwy .:. rfoHiJiJii - .Oa.Ueia. i \, . jstevon ■ i5>jVfty. . , . .itofi HuAVyf t'.: ..itnitud -Msiltr l;;..'...lU)Ueit Spott I.utlwit^.Dv iJia Ml . ..'. .:.:I:>nir l>ni(j<:las i'i .... .Lionel :iioyee -.,.-.,,..1^. Z.: Miil-tel .-. .:iJf^orH'^ -T. , . ... fiosa. Key :«ilda, ;,,.:,..,,,..,., .roHnliy .l.t'arrel!.; llalliij Mntiilson... (IbreKOn .....,. . ., :IIneJe INo.,;...'.:.. <Casey ............. Cuptuln.:l>f.>lKado... Gaiic KvanH.... . tlerniaii: ,.;.. TiioinaH Ii.alif;lol'd:. ilornian : Tifttie Man.. Utit^rta ..., Alana "The Outlaw'' is full of surprises. First is that it is so bad. And sec- ond is thati despite being: so bad, it is doing such strong business In vir- tually every one of a flock of play- dates since its initial opening two weeks ago. Third surprise is how lenient censoring bodies have been with it. ; As far as the b.o. goes, this is one of those phenomena that crop up in show business- every so often. They do sensational business Without any logical explanation, except public gullibility where the sex angle has been played up in publicity.' ''To- bacco Road's" seven-year run on Broadway is a case in point. As one trade wag : remarked. "The Outlaw" is the first picture in history to get a five-year pre-opcning cam- paign. And that, with the promise of .sex, ha.sn't hurt. Logical expecta- tion, however, would be that this would result; HI big theutrt; JU'osse.i • Howard Hughes' production of "The OiUlaw" (UA), featuring Jane Ru:ssell, Jack Bnetel, Thomas Mitthell and Walter Huston, directed by Hughes and with story and screenplay by Jules FuHhman. Originally re- viewed in Vakiety. Feb.: 5, 1943, when it ran 121 miiis. at the Geary, San Francisco. Trade- shoicn in New York, March 15, 'i6. . Running time, 115 MINS. the fir.st couple of day.s. which would die oil when word got around that the picture is a boresome. -ialmost two-hour ho.ss opry. But "The Out- law," paradoxically, i.s hitting hold- over figures and. so far, has all the early ■ earmarks, of winding up' a top grosser., ' As for the censorship angles, bat- tles over which have resulted in the dim s ,sitting .on a shelf for iiibre than four yc-.r.s,.Htlgh(S,s has cvidciVtiy lost some points and won some. Those oyerr-generious:slffits of Mi,s.s RuB.seirs obvious chanTi.SiT-,whicfi the': Pro'duc- l),6n Code Admini.sl I'll tion and Vari- ous, .state .aijd local censors found so o'Djectionable—have > largely been eliminated. There's still an occa- sional eyeful, but the emphasis in that direction has definitely been deleted. - , On the other hand, there are a few other tidbits that prove Hughes won at least some of his arguments. That sequence, for instance, finding .Jack Buetel in Miss Russell's bed, suller- ing from the chills. With no other source of heat availablcj apparently —and no clergyman, eithor-^Mis.s Russell saves the day. She peels off her clothes and jumps into the sack with Buetel. The camera, of course, doesn't cover the entire operation-^ iU.St to the point'Where Mi.ss Russell, sitting on the edge of the bed, gels; her shoes and stockings off, starts to unbutton her blouse, and tells the chaperon to scram. Another odd thing is the doublc- entendre—which is really the wrong name for it, becau.sc there is very little "double" about it. Particularly in a scene in which Buetel indi- cates he's mad at the gal and is about to kill her. You can take that bit of dialog any way you wi.sh, of course—but after the fadeout and the next scene comes up you find that Miss Ru,ssell isn't dead after all. So mcbbe it wasn't killing her that Beutel was talking about, at that. Slowness of the film is its woi-.st point. Sliced from its present 135 minutes to perhaps a bit more than half of that, it might be a moderate wc.stern. Buetel plays Billy the Kid, with Walter Huston as vet badman, Huston saves the kid in one scrape alter another, finding each time that lie gets nothing but ingratitude in return. It finally conies to Buetel'.s- .steali,nj* I-j;uston:.s :g;il, . ,M;iRS Huss,ell. Thomas Mitchell is the badland peace officer, forever after the two quick- trigger arti.st.s, who are pals beneath those snarling exteriors. Added to all this is the fact that Miss Riis.soll and Buetel are obvious- ly, amateiir.i.sh in, tbeil' .pertormancc. To make matters worse, these tyios arc paired -off. iigaih.st two of the toi: troupers in the business, Mitcholl and Hirston. " ■ Dialog, direction, even the mu.sic. are strictly cliche. Uerb. Practically all the s.a. habiliments of the femme fatale have been mustered for ''Gilda." and when things get trite and frequently far- fetched, somehow, at the dioj) of a shoulder strap, there is always Rita Hayworth to excite the i filmgoer. When story interest lag.i. she's cer- tain to shrug a bare shoulder, to.ss her tawny head m an intimately re- vealing closeup, or saunter teasingly through the. celluloid. She: dissipates the theories, if any, that sex has its shortcomings.' as a popular com- modity.: Miss Hay.worth will do busi- nes.s.'; . Tlie story is a confusion of gam- bling, international intrigue and a triangle that links two gamblers and the wife of one of them. The setting, is Buenos Aires. Sneaking in some- how is the subplot of a' tungsten; cartel operated by the husband, who also runs a swank gambling casino. A couple ot Nazis are thrown in also. It seems -.that the younger gambler and the wife had been' sweethearts: before her .rebound marriage, but now they hate each other oh-so- much. For .some rca.son the scripterS don't reveal the cause of this hate. When the husband apparently sui- cides in an ocean plane cr.ish. after his cartel machinations are found out by the police, tfhe younger man and I the wife marry in what loolt.s; liki? a patchup of their feud. But no. He's still mad. He's married het only to get even. And there she is wearing gowns down to here and wailing futilely for him every iiiuht. And looking oh-sorbeautiful! And never more beautiful than in her hapl(\ss plight. Just a lot ot impractical mad- ne.ss. : Of course, they finally get together. A"CQp who woiuls his philosophical way through the picture breaks down the guy's resislanre. Thai's where the pic really winds iip on it,s cartel. ■■ ■ ■ Miss Hayworth is ijhotographod most beguilingly, an imdoiibted envy for the ferames and an excitement for the men. The producers hi.vc created nothing subtle in the pro- jection of her s.a., and that's prob- ably been wise. Glenn Ford is the vis-a-vis, in his first picture part In sevc'-td years, after his release from serv'ce. IleV a far better actor than the tale per- .rnits. And, there, are times, de.s'pite the script, when he's able to give a -particularly creditable, perform- ance. George Macready plays the older gambler with .some plausi- bility, and Steven Geray believably portrays the casino attendant. There are a couple of song.'i o.-.ten.- sibly sUng by Miss Hayworth, and one of them. "Put the Blame on Manic."' piques the interest because of its intriguing, low-down quality. ",Oilda"' is obviously an pxperiiiivo production—and shows it. The di- rection is .static, but that's more the fault of the writers. But this is nn^ other pic where the •profc.s.slcinal critics—those guys with passes—can't do enough to dotoui- the paying public. Kahtt. N. y. PARITES EAST Hollywood, March 19. Charles M. Reagan lelt for Phoenix after huddles here with Harry Ginsberg, Paramount studio chief. Curtis Mitchell, Paramount direc- tor of advertising and publicitv, leaves for New York today (2()) along with Paul Ackerman and Rex Taylor, Johnny Comes Flying 'Home lifltli-Foi relAaw oC Auhrcy .Schoneu ))riW diietlon. Ktai's Rlnlmrd Cranv, li"ay«- Jlar*: lowf, Jlaitbii StowHi't, i.'liai-le.'i KiWai^lt; 'Uonry MoiKun; featurcM liny ,' Kid>erii>j, Diaries Tuimeii. Ultcptcd by lieiilainii, .StololF. .Serofnplny, Junk AiidretvH mi,i. OeorKe JlticktT, fixtm Mtory by. Andretr>i; .cnrncra, Harry .TaokHon; editor, ,1 ohn Are-: :i.'afl:«r.ty. ., Tradenhown tf^. Y., Miii'di ' }4. 'Id Runnliiir time. )IS MINN. .Iiliiiny Mnitlii IlUhaid Piano TijiUy. . .'. i.... .. .,,.,:..,.> .l'\iye.' .Vf.rrloVte . Amid ('uinmlHKS.. ........ ;'Mai'lbu Stf>wuvb .Miles t^aiT...... i. . ......t'lnn'it'H Uiij.fieu:' .1. P. .Hartley............. i.;:.:lioy :Ilijbi'rtfi .l/ie j'atl.llb:,..;.lloni;y Mnr*iiS Harry..........t'liarlf.M 'rntnteii l'eKn:y-I.ou..... i ...KIntnn l.i;ni,'aa jfeitnle,. ;.............. ...\fai'lf}tta I'aiM llut.oli...........Antliony Syden Dr. "Uuiidcrsun....' ^... .Selincr: .Faol. i^ou.. ■Mettei's lolin llainlUen (iriRsby I I.HTy. Ty lev Motorayclo ilftlcer Vvawh. litor«d;ili ^\^jitehnian. .Tom Dii^aJi Miu 'lM.vle,r..... iCrniyctf .Uiuviiiton . VliiKluelir..:...:........... . . illlKlv lleuutnmvt 'I'^ehnloiaii I^ernie t| Henry. Waller (l.iW.Vm rou'IHiin Will Wiii;lit A much too obvious dramatization: of what may be one of the minor problems of returned vets i.j ".Tolmny Comes Flying Home." While spiked with some' of our latest gadgets, in- cluding a jet plane performairc<\ 1 li« film never revs up to anything more than low horsepower action; With-- ovit marquee attraction it adds up. to a routine business-getter; The celluloid, for the most part; is taken up with the efforts of a trio of di.schargcd fliers to build up a going air freight concern with a C-47 plus flying experience. Dick Crane has been: ordered grounded by a medico because of my.stQrious * to the audience) nervous ailment gar-:- nered during combat, TjOvc enters by way ot a decorative medianic(\s.s, Martha Stewart, who doubles as re- pair gal : and sparrin.? partner to. Crnne in a series of teapot tcmpe.sts. Plot windS'its way through a string of tribulations which Crane and his partners, Charles Ru.s.seU .'uid: Henry Morgan, meet in battling their way out of the red. fliey: seize their own plane after. it has been . impounded for an unpaid repair bill in order . to rescue a potential niillionairc cus- tomer who : has cracked up in in- iccessible country. To make the I'e.s- cue, Ru.sscll.hits the silk. Hercas in other seqiicnce.s, the situation is han'- dled with .so little imagination and freshness that what might have proved exciting ends in being only torpid.;, . , Final scene muffs in the same way. In financial desperation Ru.ssell un- dertakes the dangerous job of test , diving a new jet plane for a hand- .some fee. Crane through stratagem locks Rusiiell in a telephone booth and takes the plane up d«>.spite his ailment. The successful trial nfii neatly ties the package with money in kick, for the business and Crane a proven flier again. Unfortunately, with the suspense factor lacking and camera treatment mediocre, tlie; scene is not the sock finish it was meant to be. . GranCi Russell and Morgan as the nuisketecring trio meet the moderate the.spian requirements of their roles pleasantly enough. Mi.ss Stewart does well as the attractive plane fixer oven when, at times, her lines do her dirt. Faye Marlowe plays wile to Rii.s.sell competently. Direction and story manipulation is .where the picture niisses fire most. ; ' .Symphonie 11'Amour (Musical) . (FRENCH-MADE) ..\iitlro E. ■.Mj^a'/.yfelea.sp of jVleavvy pfn- fillt-lron. .^lurfi I'Vrniind (Jl'avi'i;. !!earure,»; .Im-iiueliJie i'Vani-eli. ,A lerine. .l»jnime .Aiilieii. . I »!|-e;.(,e(l ,hy Kol')ert .Sioiiii)ali. :Serf'..n|il:iy." Vve.s Aiiraniie,; eiimurn, flarry Kiradtliiii!;: inusie.Wpniei. lloymann; l';niil'.sii i.i.lfs,: lieriilan (1. WeinherR. Al .Mil Av.^nne i'ia*- ': IIOU.S.V, .S'. Y.. vm.lt or .March i>.. WU. Jtuir- iii'is itiijo, 80 MISH. : raiiard,..:. ,. P'ernaiirt lien it' Hi.s (ili'l. ... ........... ..Jai-iitiellne Fraiiivell' ' MlLSic IMVillishw. i.^-.,^.:... . . ... ; ;-yV.ler)«0 Hi.* Mistress. ..:;ii-;.j..,..;;,;.je„||„e .XftliSirt., ' I'lie: Alarquis..;. . '. ,... .Ki- poret ■ '}''»• ,""»' A I 111 H llio .liUlii PJrouloi'..;:-Jemiin; Ti,vs.ier., Latest French pre-war film (o be distributed in the U. S., "Symhonie D'Amour" holds practically nothing to interest American audiences. Judg- ing from the garb of the actrcs.ses, the film was probably made in the early '30s and the production tech- niques are of similar vintage. Box- office prospects lor this country iQpk tepid in even the artj • houses. Story's a routine attair thaf.s- been recreated on the American screen se\'eral times. Fcrnand Gra\et, a ■truggling young compo.ser. gives up music when he can't click, turning to whatever kind of job he can get. His amie, a bit actrc's.s, persuades a rich marquis to stage a musical built around Gravel's theme and is cast in the ingenue lead. Theatre's publicity staff, to hypo interest, hands out the story the composer committed suicide. Comes opening night, the show's a .solid hit and Grnvot, unshaven and" unkempt, turns up at the .stage door to set things right again with his girl- frieiHl and the world. Gravet,, who's turned in much bet^ - tor performances, is still the only member ot the cast to make his role seem plausible. Rest of the actors, .stymied by the things called I'or in . the script, appear; .as- cai'icatuvcs, rather than live beings. Directdr Robert Siodmak, now in Hollywood, evidently tried hard to get the right (Continued oh pligc 2(!) >.